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Movies directed by Rob Marshall usually make me shudder (Chicago, and for TV, Annie, Cinderella, etc). Luckily while elements are there, this is a plain drama and a love story. While never reaching the epic proportions the trailer makes it out to be, it’s as elegant and poetic as can be expected. Also, seeing Ziyi Zhang for more than two hours is fresh breeze on the eyes. Most actresses learned their lines by pronounciation, not by meaning, but the emotions are still acted well.7+.

With James Wong and Glen Morgan retaking the reigns (skipping the second part), their original idea still works well, although it somehow creates some kind of predictability. With a whole new seperate chapter starting, the pace is good, but the story twists make a little bit less sense than before. The scares and gruesome deaths are also still there, and so is the continuous feeling of Death in stalker-mode. Definitely a safe bet for all the horror lovers out there.7.

I’ve never seen the first one, because I could see from the trailer it was a kid’s movie. Now with my unlimited card and free parking, I thought I might try the box office smashing sequel. Big mistake. It’s still targeting the kids with cheap laughter. The basic storyline is also shallow, leaving any adult sighing for the end. Even at a lowly 90 minutes, it still feels too long. The only way to enjoy this movie is get yer kids on a sugar rush, while you get yourself drunk.5.

If you see the list of award nomination and wins for this movie, you’ll be amazed. If you see the movie itself, not so much. Quite frankly, it’s long stretched and pretty boring.
Furthermore, as a drama, it doesn’t affect me that much, as I can hardly identify with a super gay writer, nor with cold blooded killers. The only thing that translates well, is the long waiting period Capote had to go through. Then again, the movie theatre isn’t exactly the place to experience waiting.
Being a non-reader, I had no idea Capote was the so-called greatest American writer, and after seeing this movie, I still don’t understand. Way to go.4.

Winter’s just over, but the movie audience already miss it enough to propel Ice Age: The Meltdown to the top spot. Selling $70.5 million worth of tickets, it’s currently this year’s best opening. That’s probably at least till the big guns open in May.
Inside Man tumbles down some 50%, selling just enough to hang on to the runner-up spot, with $15.7 million.
Also a new entry at 3, ATL (whatever that acronym means) earns $12.5 million. Left overs round out the top 5, with Failure to Launch at 4 with $6.62 and V for Vendetta at 5 with $6.46 million.

More like, Well-done for the Wachowski Brothers. This being their first project after The Matrix trilogy, they even took a break from behind the cameras. Does that matter ? Most probably not. They wrote a thightly packed screenplay, and from there, nothing seems to be able to go wrong.
It’s safe to say there’s no real need for a unique filming style or extremely innovative special effects (even though it’s there if the script calls for it), because the screenplay is like a sturdy foundation. The multi-layered textures (both on personal and social levels) work its way through fleshy dialogue, sucking you in from the very beginning. By creating a gritty world mostly with the use of words, they’ve successfully created a saga without resorting to a sky-rocketing budget invasive methods.
And last but no least, the acting is superb. Extra kudos for Hugo Weaving for giving another complex character form in the way he only can, with just his voice and timing.
So, maybe the comic book was already good from the beginning. Maybe I’m not paying attention to the director or the music composer. But what I’m definitely sure of is that I can’t wait for the next project from Wachowski Brothers.8½.

The only basic instinct here, really is the drive to make bad sequels. To say the least, it’s a very unexciting thriller. It’s pretty superficial, with all the main characters designed to have motive for the following murders. Throw in some circular logic, forget all about the plot holes. And there you have it. Boring garbage. Some points go the the flesh revealing scenes, but that’s about it.3.

As expected, the powerhouse line-up (going for the names alone) of Inside Man made it the top picture this week. With ease, worth $29 million in ticket sales, it leaves the competition behind. V for Vendetta will have to settle for a runner-up spot this week, with $12.3 (a steep 52% drop).
New comer, Stay Alive, with the teen gamers as target demo, earns $11.2 million, good for a number 3 spot. Left-overs round out the top 5, resp. Failure to Launch with $10.8 million and The Shaggy Dog $9.1 million.

The boring world, Terrence Malick must’ve meant. Never in my life have I seen such a boring Pocahontas rendition as this one. Everything pointed to a sweeping love story. What you actually get is Terence thinking wide shots of the woods filled with weird moving Indians, flying birds and the supposedly romantic tumble in the long grass will keep us interested. While most movies use dialogue as glue, here it’s more like bio-waste from a liposuction. With narrative coming from 3 principle characters, it falls between bad poetry and musings from a crazy person. While I have nothing against Colin Farrell, I was actually waiting for a great character play by Christian Bale. Not only is he not named (plus he only gets to play in the last twenty minutes from those two looooong hours, but he made me wonder why he would choose such a simple role, after many critically acclaimed movies).
The only thing less boring was watching the audience between my muscle spams, and laughing when someone would get up and leave. At the end, during a slowdown in the musical queue (one of the most horrible score I’ve heard from James Horner), the whole audience (including me) was getting up. It was either that, or cut that damn finger off that was holding the 1/4 speed button.2.

What do you get if you mix a renowned director (who’s forte is making movies involving racial issues) with a stellar cast (Denzel, Jody and Clive), and a pretty well-written script ? The answer is obvious. A pretty good movie.
You might say it’s the first time Spike Lee is actually aiming the camera to shoot for the box office (I bet you didn’t see his two last movies All the Invisible Children and Jesus Children of America). Heck, mine was 4 years back (25th Hour). But not to worry, even with a big budget under his belt, he delivers. After all, with those three screen mammoths, you get what you paid for.
The story is nicely stretched to a two full hours, filled with sharp dialogue. And without those actors, the psychological power play probably wouldn’t have been delivered that well. Only one thing on the minus side, with the movie ending winding down a bit too early, making the end feel like an anti-climax.7½.

V for Vendetta strikes back with a vengeance, as the first Wachowski brothers’ production after the Matrix trilogy gains the top spot with a $26.1 million opening.
Failure to Launch enters a lower orbit, one place lower at number 2 with $15.8 million. Tim Allen still barks loudly at number 3 with The Shaggy Dog, with $13.6 million. Teen comedy She’s the Man enters at number 4 with $11 million. Rounding out the top 5 is The Hills Have Eyes, almost dropping 50% to $8.1 million.

Zathura: Kid’s movie offers only limited fun in a constrained and repetitive way for nine-year old tops.5.
Sky High: Another kid movie that just can’t rise above the the usual coming-of-age cliches, enjoyable only for thirteen-year olds or less.5½.
Hostel: Can’t quite believe it why Quentin Tarantino wanted his name attached to this amateur project (besides the money, as most horror movie lately have a low budget/high return expectancy), as it fails on all levels of creativity.3.
The World’s Fastest Indian: A satisfactory indie drama, which really is an Anthony Hopkins one man road trip show.7+.

Tommy Lee Jones was received pretty well in the indie art circuit (nominations for Independent Spirit Award, winning at Cannes) for his first entry behind the camera (one earlier job was for a TV Movie), but I don’t actually see it. Three Burials tries to be a drama without depth (of character), and adds a bit of black humor, and that succeeds to a certain level, but in the end, it’s the lack of depth that will keep nagging. The acting is up to par, but the pace is mostly too slow (especially since it has many road trip like elements in it). Pretty much a disappointment after so much hype (still, it’s not a total waste though).7.

No failure at all, for rom-com Failure to Launch (starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker) reached the top spot this week, with a healthy $24.6 million.
Meanwhile, Tim Allen starrer The Shaggy Dog opened at two with $16 million. Third is for horror flick The Hills Have Eyes (like The Shaggy Dog, also a remake), scaring up some $15.5 million. Horror movies are still a safe bet to go on, and like many before, this movie earns its budget back right at the premiere.
16 Blocks has to do it with half of the audience of last week, and drops to number 4 with $7.3 million, while Madea’s Family Reunion drops even steeper, rounding out the top 5 with $5.8 million.

Drama based on true events, with solid writing, making it a valid tear-jerker. In fact, enough tears are jerked to wash away the smudge that was Aeon Flux (a well earned Oscar nomination for Charlize Theron). Good allround acting and sensible direction of the camera makes it an engaging experience.8-.